Vancouver, BC- Let there be sport! 38 days after Canada West announced the cancellation of most fall sports and championships,  the conference has unveiled plans for the 2020 Golf Championships to proceed.

Golf courses have been open across western Canadian provinces since the beginning of June, allowing recreational golfers to get their fix of outdoor activity. However, aside from a few small tournaments, competition has been left to casual players- until the Canada West announcement.

The decision to give the tournament the go-ahead was made July 16, with all 17 member schools being advised by the conference’s Covid-19 Task Force, before unanimously voting to at least give it a shot.

While the vote gives the championships clearance for now, whether the tournament will actually happen lies contingent on provincial health regulations and local communities, as the fight against Covid-19 continues.

“I’d like to thank our COVID-19 Task Force along with the scheduled hosts of our fall championship sports for the work that went into informing today’s vote,”

– CW President Clint Hamilton in a media release. 

If student-athletes do step into the teeing area, they’ll do so in Kelowna, BC with the tournament hosted by the University of British Columbia Okanagan from Oct. 2-4. With many students not on campus for the first semester, some could get their only exposure to the physical embodiment of their institutions at the Okanagan Golf Club.

Although Canada West is planning to crown a golf champion, the sport is not contested on a U SPORTS level. However, a national tournament will be contested with Golf Canada’s College and University Championship planned for June 1-4, 2021. 

Also on July 15, Canada West announced that its members had voted to postpone the swimming championships, previously scheduled for Nov.  2020, for a date TBD in early 2021. 

With the announcements, golf becomes the only university sport scheduled for action in 2020, outside of Quebec and the RSEQ, a conference that has yet to postpone anything in-lieu of Covid-19.

Cover Photo- UBC Okanagan Heat